Somewhere I Belong
by Myari
Summary: Sophie never felt like she belonged, she always felt like an outsider looking in, especially with her family. Sophie would do anything to feel like she belonged, even taking over running her late father's hat shop, even though she longed to be else where. When Sophie is pulled into the middle of a conflict between the infamous Howl and the even more infamous Witch of the Waste
1. Chapter 1

**Somewhere I Belong**

 **Summary-**

Sophie never felt like she belonged, she always felt like an outsider looking in, especially with her family. Sophie would do anything to feel like she belonged, even taking over running her late father's hat shop, even though she longed to be else where. When Sophie is pulled into the middle of a conflict between the infamous Howl and the even more infamous Witch of the Waste, Sophie is able to finally find the place she feels she belongs.

 **Chapter One-**

Sophie sighed as she sat in her office in the hat shop that her late father had opened. She carefully sowed some accessories onto the hat with practiced ease as she let her mind drift. Her father had been a kind man, always trying his hardest to help others, he had also been considered quite a looker. He had had short light brown almost blond hair and beautiful ocean blue eyes and a love for making hats.

Sophie's father met her mother when he had first started up his hat business, her mother had come in looking to buy a hat. Sophie's mother's long blond hair and ice blue eyes had captured her father's heart the second he saw her. It had taken many months before her father had been able to convince her mother to consider dating him, and even longer to get her to agree to marry him.

A year after they were married they had her. It had been quite a shock when her baby blue eyes slowly turned to a warm hazel, and her light brown hair slowly melted into a dark mahogany. She looked nothing like her parents or even her younger sister Lettie who looked almost like a clone of their mother.

It wasn't just her looks that differed from her family. While her father had been a live he had been out spoken and had never been afraid of saying what was on his mind. Her mother was loud and loved to be the center of attention. Lettie, also liked being the center of attention, just like their mother, though she wasn't nearly as loud, she also always spoke her mind. And then there was her. She was meek and shy, she hated being the center of attention and she was afraid to speak her mind.

A light knock on the open door of her office brought Sophie's mind back to the present. She blinked and look over at a middle aged woman with brown hair pulled into a bun that was now standing in her once empty doorway. "Miss Sophie I've closed up the shop. Why don't you come out with us this time." The woman informed her and Sophie gave her a soft smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I'll just finish this," Sophie said softly as she held up the hat that was in her hand, "Go have some fun."

"Alright, then, I'll be off." The woman told her and turned to leave the hat shop. "Let's go girls."

"Look, it's Howl's Castle!" One of the young women who would in the shop cried catching all of the other young women's attention. Sophie looked through her office window and caught a glimpse of the infamous moving castle as it slipped into the fog that seemed to always cover the waste.

"What? Where? Howl?" The young women called as they also tried to catch a glimpse of the moving castle.

"He's gone." Sophie heard one of them say.

"No, he's just hiding in the fog from all those soldiers." Sophie heard as she went back to sowing.

"Say, did you hear? Remember Martha, from South Haven? They say Howl tore her heart out!"

"Now I'm too scared to go out."

"Don't worry, he only preys on pretty girls." The young women joked as they left the hat shop. Sophie finished the hat and reached out to grab another one to finish while trying to ignore the tugging in her soul. Ever since she was ten, Sophie always felt a soft tug at her soul. She didn't know what it was or why it was there, all she knew was that it constantly reminded her that she didn't belong there. Some days it was easier to ignore, but there were days like today when it simply would not be ignored.

Sophie sat the hat in her hands down with a heavy sigh and knew that she would not be getting anymore work done that day. And seeing as she was now free it would be the perfect time to visit her baby sister. Lettie had been begging Sophie to visit her so that she knew that Sophie was alright.

Sophie slid off her work chair while dusting off her apron before untying it. She laid it down and picked up her simple hat as she walked past it. Sophie walked down the stairs and out of the hat shop, she walked through the small court yard to another part of the shop that held her apartment above it. After leaving the shop, locking the door behind her, Sophie took a deep breath before making her way to the full trolley.

Standing on the last step of the trolley, Sophie had a good view of the city and the parade that was going on. Though Sophie had know idea why her city was having a parade when they had just entered a war. Sophie shook her head at the sound of the crowd cheering as Soldiers marched by, this was just another thing that made her painfully aware that she did not belong. The trolley slowly came to a stop and Sophie was the first one off, she squeezed her way through the crowd of passengers from other trolleys.

Once she was clear of the crowds, Sophie quickly began to make her way to her sister's work. Taking the alleyways so as to not have to constantly squeeze her way through the crowds of people. As she was walking through an alleyway she bumped into two soldiers. "Hey there little mouse, lost your way?" One of the the soldiers asked.

"Oh, no, I'm not lost." Sophie said taking a step away from the soldier.

"Then how about a cup of tea?" The soldier asked as Sophie tried to walked around him but was stopped by the other soldier. "Care to join me?"

"No thanks, I'm busy." Sophie said clutching her chest in fear. These two soldiers were giving her a strange vibe and all she wanted was to find away out of this situation she found herself in.

"She sure is a cute little mouse." The second soldier said bending down to get a good look of her face that was hidden under her hat, giving Sophie a better view of his handlebar mustache.

"Say, how old are you? You live around here?" The first soldier asked and Sophie back up even more.

"Let me pass!" Sophie demanded her fear reaching to the point that she was beginning to lash out like a cornered animal.

"See, it's those whiskers of yours." The first soldier said to the second one with a laugh.

"She's even cuter when she's mad." The second one said.

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you." A deep voice said from behind her and Sophie tensed up even more as a large hand landed on her shoulder, had a third soldier come upon them? "Where've you been?"

"Who are you?" The first soldier asked alerting Sophie that this person was no soldier. Sophie peeked up at the person next to her and was shocked to see a handsome man with shoulder length blond hair and sky blue eyes.

"I'm with her." The man said sliding his arm around her shoulder as it finally dawned on Sophie at what was happening. This man was trying to help her get away from these soldiers. This thought allowed Sophie to relax a little. "Why don't you two take a little walk." And with just a flick of his wrist the two soldiers suddenly stood up straighter, another flick of his wrist and the two soldiers were marching past them. "Don't hold it against them. They're harmless. Where to? I'll be your escort." The man said as Sophie stared at him in shock, this man was a wizard.

"No, really, I'm only going to Cesari's." Sophie said softly and though she knew she should be scared, she wasn't, she was actually somewhat excited. This man, this wizard, didn't make her feel out of place as being around people normally made her feel.

"Act normal, I'm being followed. Just walk." The wizard informed her before taking her arm in his and lead her down the alley. Sophie took a deep breath and willed her tense body to relax, if this wizard was really being followed, then she didn't want her tense body to draw any attention to him and her by default. The two of them were calmly walking down the alley as any normal couple would when a sound behind them caused her to tense up. Had they been discovered? "Sorry, I got you involved." The wizard whispered to her.

Dark blob like creatures melting out of the walls in front of them caused Sophie to gasp and clutch onto the wizard's arm in fear. She knew what these blob like creatures were, they were the the Witch of the Waste's minions. The creatures were closing in on them when the wizard made a sharp left down a side alley. "This way." He told her before forcing them to speed up as more creatures blocked their path. Seeing that, the wizard wrapped his arm around Sophie's waist as he took off running before leaping into the air right before they crashed into the creatures.

"Drop your legs, keep walking." The wizard kindly ordered with a soft smile once they were in the air, his hands moving to take a hold of hers. Sophie did as he said and was amazed when they began to walk on air as if they were still on the ground. As Sophie looked down at the people below her ignorant to the fact that she and the wizard were above them, she couldn't help the smile that came from her heart and actually reached her eyes. She knew she should be terrified but all she could feel was excitement and the humming of her soul. She had never felt like this before.

"That's right, don't be frightened." The wizard told her as they slowly started to descend. Sophie heart skipped a beat when her fingers slipped between the wizards and couldn't help glancing at him to noticed that he was staring at her with a soft look. As she looked closer at him she could see that his eyes held a strange king of longing look. "You are a natural." He whispered to her causing her to blush a little.

A few minutes later they came to Cesari's and landed on it's small balcony. The wizard carefully and gently helped her off the railing and onto the balcony. "I'll draw them off. Wait here until the coast is clear." He told her.

"Yes." Sophie said before the wizard slowly let go of her hands, to Sophie it felt almost as if he were doing so reluctantly.

"That's my girl." He said with a warm smiled before he jumped off the railing and disappeared into the crowd below. Sophie ran to the railing and looked over it to the ground, three stories below her and gave a little laugh when she couldn't find the wizard. Had that really just happened? Had she really just been saved from two soldiers by a wizard? And had she and the wizard really just walked on air all the way here?


	2. Chapter 2

**Somewhere I Belong**

 **Summary-**

Sophie never felt like she belonged, she always felt like an outsider looking in, especially with her family. Sophie would do anything to feel like she belonged, even taking over running her late father's hat shop, even though she longed to be else where. When Sophie is pulled into the middle of a conflict between the infamous Howl and the even more infamous Witch of the Waste, Sophie is able to finally find the place she feels she belongs.

 **Chapter Two-**

"Sophie?" Sophie heard Lettie call out to her as the young 16 year old ran up to her. Sophie slowly turned away from the window she had been staring out as she thought over everything that had lead her there.

"Lettie?" Sophie asked as her sister took hold of her hands in worry.

"How did you land on the veranda like that? Have you become an angel?" Lettie asked.

"So that did happen, it wasn't a dream." Sophie muttered to herself. As she had waited for someone to get her sister, Sophie had begun to question if she had made everything up in her mind.

"Lettie, why not use the office?" Someone called out to them.

"Thanks, but I should really be working." Lettie told the person before leading Sophie down stairs, through a huge crowd of people that had been mostly men, and to a storage room just off the kitchens. There Lettie was able to force out exactly what happened from Sophie, Lettie had always been good at getting Sophie to talk even when she didn't want to. "What? He must have been a wizard then."

"He was so kind." Sophie said as she remembered the wizard. The way the wind had played with his hair as they walked across the sky, the gentle look he had given her, the way his voice sounded, and the way he made her feel. Sophie knew that she would never be able to forget him, nor did she want to. "He rescued me."

"Don't tell me he's stolen your heart. If that was the wizard Howl, he'd have eaten it right up." Lettie said and Sophie glanced at her with a soft sigh.

"Don't worry, Howl's only after beauties." Sophie said softly with a sad look. Because of the fact that she didn't look like her beautiful mother and little sister, Sophie never felt beautiful, sexy, or even cute. It also never helped that everyone who had met her and her mother and sister always gossiped about her.

"There you go again. Listen to me, we live in dangerous times. They say even the Witch of the Waste is back on the prowl." Lettie lectured her. Sophie had heard this many a times from her sister whenever she visited her and from her mother whenever she came back from a trip. And because of this, it was easy for Sophie to tune them out and thing about something else. "Sophie?"

"Huh?" Sophie asked blinking and looking over at her now annoyed little sister.

"Oh, you..." Lettie moaned as a baker poked his head into the room.

"Lettie, the Madeleines are done." He informed them.

"Okay, be right there." Lettie said to him and the man disappeared back into the kitchen.

"I'm going home." Sophie said standing up. "It's a relief to know you're doing well." Lettie smiled at her and stood up as well before taking her hand.

"I'm glad you came to see me." Lettie said before beginning to lead Sophie back through the crowed main room to the door. "Listen, are you going to spend your whole life in that shop?" Lettie asked her once they were outside. Though Sophie wanted to tell Lettie the truth, that she would rather be out traveling the lands and exploring new places, she just smiled and told her the same thing she always did.

"It meant so much to Papa. Besides, I'm the eldest." Sophie said and Lettie shook her head in annoyance like she always did.

"That's not what I meant. Are you sure you want to be a hatter?" Lettie said and Sophie just smiled at Lettie with her normal smile, the one that never reached her eyes.

"I'll be on my way." Sophie said and turned to head back to the hat shop.

"Sophie, you've got to look out for yourself." Lettie called out to her. Sophie just sighed and quickly made her way down the alley ways, thankful that no soldiers stopped her this time, nor were there any more of the blob creatures. As Sophie rode the trolley back to her shop, she looked up at the quickly darkening sky and wondered where the wizard was now and if he had been able to escape the Witch of the Waste's blob creatures.

By the time Sophie got back to her hat shop, the sky was black and the street lights were lit. With a sigh, Sophie unlocked the door and let herself in before locking it again. She took off her hat as she walked to the sale's desk for the lamp. As Sophie lit the lamp she tensed up as a strange feeling washed through her right before the front door opened and closed. Someone had just entered her locked shop.

Sophie spun around to see a large woman standing in the stop door way. The woman was wearing a long black dress, a black fur coat and hat. She was also giving Sophie a foreboding feeling and Sophie wanted her out of the shop.

"Sorry, the shop's closed." Sophie told the woman before muttering to herself, "I know I locked that door." Sophie's body tensed even more when the woman walked further into the shop while looking around.

"What a cheap shop, full of cheap little hats. And you're quite cheap-looking yourself." The woman said and Sophie felt her hackles fly up, something about this woman made Sophie want to reach out and-and-and... well she didn't really know what she wanted to do. But what she did know was that she wanted the woman out of her shop and away from her.

"This is just a simple hat shop." Sophie said before quickly walking past the woman and towards the door. She opened to door and held it open for the woman. "I think you had better leave."

"You're very brave, taking on the Witch of the Waste." The woman said with a smirk shocking Sophie. The one time she actually stood against someone and spoke a part of her mind it had to be to the Witch of the Waste.

"The Witch of the Waste?" Sophie breathed out in shock as a blob creature appeared at the door. She bit back a scream as she took a step back wishing the wizard would appear and save her. Sophie felt a strange tingling in the air and turned to look at where the Witch of the Waste was standing only to see her literally flying at her. Sophie ducked and covered her head and waited to feel the weight of the woman hitting her. But the only thing she felt was a cold chill fly through her before her whole body began to ache causing her to drop her hat.

"You won't be able to tell anyone about that spell. My regards to Howl." The Witch of the Waste said confusing Sophie. The Witch of the Waste had put a spell on her? And why was she sending her regards to Howl with her? Was the spell meant to make her find Howl and have him eat her heart? After the door was slammed shut, Sophie took a minute to calm herself before uncurling from the protective ball she had found herself in.

As she looked around the shop for either the Witch of the Waste, her blob creatures, or Howl, Sophie noticed that her whole body felt weak and ached everywhere. What had the Witch of the Waste done to her? When Sophie was sure that she was alone she reached down to pick up her hat, grunting as the ache in her body pulsed in complaint.

Sophie's eyes widened when she saw her once young and wrinkle free hands now looked like they belonged on the body of a 90 year old. As quickly as her aching body would let her, she moved to the mirrors that had been put up for the use of the customers. Sophie gasped in shock when instead of seeing herself, she saw a little old woman in her place. The Witch of the Waste had turned her into an old woman!

"Is this really me! I've got to stay calm." Sophie told herself before turning to head up to her room, but before she even made it to the stairs Sophie found herself turning around and heading back to the mirror. Nervously, Sophie peeked back into the mirror to see that, yes, she was still an old woman. "I've got to calm down." She told herself and found herself in another court yard on the other side of the building. "It's no use panicking, Sophie. I'll be fine, I'll be fine." She find herself heading back into the shop to look in the mirror and stopped herself. "I've got to calm down." She told herself as she made herself actually go to her room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Somewhere I Belong**

 **Summary-**

Sophie never felt like she belonged, she always felt like an outsider looking in, especially with her family. Sophie would do anything to feel like she belonged, even taking over running her late father's hat shop even though she longed to be else where. When Sophie is pulled into the middle of a conflict between the infamous Howl and the even more infamous Witch of the Waste, Sophie is able to finally find the place she feels she belongs.

 **Chapter Three**

The next day found Sophie curled up under her blanket, still an old woman. Sophie sighed and pulled the blanket tighter around her, she had hoped that last night had just been a horrible nightmare and that when she woke up she would be herself again. Sophie bit back a sob, this wasn't fair! What had she done to even deserve this!

Sophie tensed up when she heard her mother calling for her from downstairs. Of course her mother just had to return today of all days. What would her mother say when she saw her? Sophie squeezed her eyes shut in fear and frustration. This just wasn't fair.

Her mother pounded on her door and called to her through it. "Don't come in." Sophie cried out to her, she didn't want her mother to see her like this, heck, she didn't want anyone who knew her to see her like this. "I've got an awful cold. I don't want you to catch it."

"You sound just awful... Like some 90 year old woman." Her mother told her and she couldn't stop the glare she sent towards the door.

"I'll just stay in bed today." Sophie told her.

"You sure? All right, then." Her mother said before Sophie heard her walking away. It was obvious that she wouldn't be able to actually stay here. She would have to leave and find a place to hide until the rest of her days.

"Here we go..." Sophie said to herself as she slowly slid off her bed. She slowly made her way to her mirror and gave out a sigh as the old woman looked back at her, it seemed that she was going to have to get used to looking like this from now on.

"You'll be fine, old lady." She whispered to herself with a small smile. "You're still healthy, and these clothes finally suit you. But I can't stay here." Sophie said before changing, she put her hat on and wrapped a shawl around her before picking up a pack. She made her way to her door, opened it, and looked up and down the hallway to make sure no one was around. Once the coast was clear she quickly made her way to the kitchen, her old joints cracking and groaning in pain. "Ouch, ouch. It's not easy being old."

In the kitchen Sophie packed a few loafs of bread and some cheese before she made her way out of the shop via the side door. She walked down the alley and had to cross as small bridge just as the train rolled under it covering her in a thick black smoke. Sophie closed her eyes and forced her body to keep moving and made it to the other side were a young man was standing waiting for the smoke to clear.

"Like a hand, granny?" The young man asked as Sophie made her way slowly down the stairs.

"Such a gentleman, but I'll manage." She told him and continued on her way as she tried to figure out where she was going to go. She couldn't stay in the city, it would be too easy to bump into someone who actually knew her, which meant that she would have to travel across the Wastes until she got to another city. Her old eyes landed on a farmer and his son climbing onto a wagon loaded with hay. "Excuse me young man, would you mind giving this granny a lift?"

"Sure, old lady, but where are you off to?" The farmer asked.

"Just a bit farther than where you're going." Sophie told him, farmers lived on the very edge of the Waste.

"Just hop on the back, there's room enough." The farmer told her. Sophie nodded her thanks to him and made her way onto the back of the wagon with some difficultly. A kind young man walking by stopped and helped lift her onto the back of the wagon.

"Such a gentleman." Sophie said giving the young man a smile. "Alright, I'm ready." Sophie called to the farmer and a minute later Sophie was watching the town pass her by. When they passed the city walls Sophie didn't know what to feel, part of her was sad that she was having to leave her home but another part of her was excited. This had been what she wanted, the chance to travel and explore, though being turned into an old woman hadn't been the way she wanted to be when she did so.

After a good twenty minutes the wagon finally made it to the the farmers house and Sophie forced her aching body to slide off the wagon and begin her journey into the Waste. "I don't recommend it, granny." The farmer called to her when he saw where she was heading. "Nothing but witches and wizards ahead."

"Thank you." Sophie called back to him but continued on her way, she knew what she was getting herself into. After about a few hours of walking up the slops of the Wastes, Sophie's stomach rumbled alerting Sophie that it was time to eat. With a groan, Sophie sat her old aching body on the ground and pulled out a loaf and a slice of cheese. She tore the loaf in half and broke off a piece of cheese and began to eat.

"I've hardly made any progress at all." Sophie muttered as she ate looking at the city below her. "Thank goodness I've still got my teeth." She said taking another bite. Something soft and light brushed up against her left side and Sophie slowly turned her head to see what was there, only to see nothing. Just assuming that it was the wind Sophie started to turn her head to look back at the city when a stick poking out of a bush caught her attention.

"They'll make a good cane." She said moving her bag from her lap to the ground before forcing her body to stand up. "Up we go." Sophie made her way over to the bush looking at the stick. It looked nice a sturdy.

"Might be a bit too thick." She noticed as she wrapped her hands around the stick and began to try and tug it out of the bush, but the stick was stubborn and would not budge. Sophie rearranged herself so that she was pushing down on the stick instead of tugging on it, and the stick began to give way. "What a stubborn branch. Never underestimate Grandma Sophie." She told the stick before using most of her strength to pull the stick out of the bush, shocked when something came with it.

Thanking it was one of the Witch of the Wastes blob creatures Sophie began to back up until her mind was able to notice that it was just a scarecrow that was now somehow standing on it's own. "A scarecrow, eh? I thought you were working for the Witch." She told it. "But how are you standing by yourself?" She asked it not really expecting it to answer her as she got a better look at the scarecrow only to notice his head.

"You're head's a turnip. I've always hated turnips, ever since I was little." She informed him. "At lest you're not upside down anymore. So long." Sophie said turning around and walked off. She picked up her bag and continued on her way deeper into the Wastes. And as she continued traveling the wind began to come at her stronger and faster, chilling her to the bone.

"It's so cold." Sophie muttered turning her head away from the wind only to notice how close the city was. "The city's still so close." She stopped when she heard something strange behind her. Turning to look further behind her she noticed the scarecrow from before hopping after her. It was now painfully obvious to her that this scarecrow was just some poor sap who had a spell on him, just like her.

"Don't follow me. You don't owe me a thing. I'm sure you have some kind of spell on you, and I've had more than enough of witches and spell!" Sophie called out to the scarecrow causing it to stop. "Just go stand wherever you like!" She told him before turning and continuing on her way. A few seconds later Sophie heard the scarecrow continue after her, Sophie rolled her eyes and chose to ignore him.

About five minutes later, as the sun was beginning to set, the wind and her aching body got to be too much for her and she had to stop and rest, this allowed the scarecrow the chance to get in front of her and set a cane down in front of her. "This is a perfect cane. Thank you kindly." Sophie said smiling up at the scarecrow. "While you're at it, could you bring me a house to sleep in?" Sophie ask as a way to get the scarecrow to leave her not really expecting the scarecrow to be able to find a place for her to stay. The scarecrow turned and hopped away leaving Sophie quietly laughing.

"Seems you get more cunning with age." Sophie said to herself as she used the cane to help her climb the hill. The cane was a big help and actually sped her up, and by the time the sun set she had made it to the top of the hill. The sound of a battleship passing over her caused her to stop and stare at is as it passed.

"What a huge battleship." She muttered to herself before being nearly knocked over by a strong gust of wind. "I never realized how weak you feel when you get old." Sophie cried out before sitting down on the ground, her back facing the wind. The smell of smoke caught her attention, it hadn't been there a few seconds ago.

"I smell smoke. Maybe there's a cabin." Sophie said and forced herself to get up and continue walking. As she made her way to the top of another hill she was shocked as Howl's Moving Castle met her at the top. Sophie stared in shock at the size of the castle as it seemed to stop and rest for a minute, it's mouth like structure opening in a sort of yawn. The castle was seemingly being lead to her by the scarecrow.

"Turnip-head, isn't that Howl's Castle? This is hardly what I meant when I asked for shelter!" Sophie yelled as the castle began to move again and walked over her allowing to notice the door leading into the castle. Sophie watched as the scarecrow hopped after the door as if trying to tell her to enter it. Something washed over her and she felt excited at the prospect of entering Howl's Moving Castle and found herself actually chasing after it.

"Just wait up there." Sophie cried stumbling a little as she reached out and took hold of the metal railing of the small porch just outside the door. "Are you going to let me on, or not!" She asked the castle before finding herself actually being scooped up by the castle knocking off her shawl. "My shawl!" She cried and saw the scarecrow chase after it. Assured that the scarecrow would get her shawl, she turned back to the door and opened it to see a small stairway that led into a dark room. Sophie knew that the fact that the room was in Howl's Castle should have frightened her, but she found herself being drawn into the room by the warmth and the tugging in her soul.

Sophie turned back around to see that the scarecrow had caught her shawl and was now bringing it back to her. "It seems warm enough inside, Turnip. I'm going in. Thank you." She said as she took her shawl back from the scarecrow. "Even Howl wouldn't want an ancient heart like mine. This time, it's really goodbye. You may be a turnip, but you're a good turnip. May you find happiness." Sophie told the scarecrow before entering the castle.

Sophie looked around the old, duty, and dirty room as she walked up the small staircase. Was this really Howl's Castle? If it wasn't for the hum of magic in the air Sophie would have thought she had entered an abandoned house. Sophie made her way to the dying fire as she looked around the room waiting for Howl to appear and eat her heart. She made it to the fire and threw a couple fire logs that were sitting off to the side onto the fire.

Once the fire was going again Sophie sat in a chair that was sitting in front of the fire and let it warm her as she allowed herself to look around the room once more. "What a dump. When I think 'Castle' this is not what I picture." Sophie muttered to herself. "Well, one nice thing about getting old is that nothing frightens you." She said as she felt the warmth of the fire and the exhaustion of walking all day start to lure her to sleep. Sophie wasn't even shocked when eyes appeared in the fire and stared at her and just allowed her eyes to close.

"That's some spell you're under." The fire said and Sophie slowly opened her eyes again. "It won't be easy to break."

"The fire talked." Sophie said shocked.

"And you can't even tell anyone about it." The fire said and Sophie blinked at it. This couldn't be the infamous Howl, could it?

"You're Howl?" Sophie asked.

"Wrong. I'm the fire demon, Calcifer!" The fire said as it flared out for a second.

"Well, then, Calcifer, can you break the spell I'm under?" Sophie asked him.

"Easy. If you break the spell that chains me to this place, I'll break your spell in a flash." Calcifer said snapping his fingers with a smirk.

"In other words, bargain with a demon." Sophie said with her own smirk. Something about the fact that she was here, in Howl's Castle, bargaining with his fire demon made a feeling of excitement and normalcy flow through her. "You sure you can keep that promise?"

"Demons don't make promises." Calcifer said turning his head away from her. He glance at her with his demonic eyes, a strange look in them as he stared at her. The look made Sophie feel as if he had been waiting a long time for her, why he would be waiting for her she didn't know.

"I suggest you look elsewhere." Sophie said not knowing if she was telling him not to look at her like that or to look for someone else to break his spell. Calcifer snapped his eyes away from her before turning his whole face to look at her.

"But I'm an exploited demon!" Calcifer cried throwing his arms out, sending a wave of heat at her. "I'm chained here by a contract with Howl, who works me to death!" For a second Sophie was sure that he was going to say something else but stopped himself by looking away from her. Sophie watched as he bit his lip and glared at the wall to his left, he gripped and ungripped his hands as he fought with himself. "I'm the one who keeps this castle moving." He said a few minutes later as he turned to look at her once more, his voice calmer now.

"My, you've got it rough." Sophie muttered as she began to fall asleep again.

"If you figure out the secret contract, the spell will break. If you do that, I'll break your spell, too." Calcifer told her giving her a desperate look.

"All right. A bargain, eh?" Sophie said as she closed her eyes to sleep. Once she had woken up she would begin to try and find away to break this demon's spell.

"Granny." She heard Calcifer call to her as she fell further asleep. "Is she really the one that me and Howl have been searching for?" Was the last thing she heard before unconsciousness took hold of her.


	4. Chapter 4

How I imagine Calcifer to look (I did not create this image so no create goes to me): s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg 564x / 49 / cd / bb / 49cdbbe785f22f2212057aa0876f3fbf . jpg

 **Chapter Four**

Sophie was startled awake by someone knocking on her door, she went to sit up but the pain in her shoulder and back caused her to stop as a pain filled groan forced it's way out of her. As the knocking continued, Sophie looked around and noticed she was not in her room at the hat shop. It took her brain only a few seconds for it to remember everything that happened.

Footsteps running down the stairs alerted Sophie that she was not actually alone, she laid her head back on the chair she was in and faked still being asleep. "Hey, who's this?" She heard a young boy ask.

"Porthaven!" Calcifer called out from the fireplace.

"When did she get in?" The young boy asked as he walked away from her. Sophie peeked under her eyelid and watched as a young boy with light brown hair pulled a blue cloak from underneath a pile of paper and books before throwing it on. He pulled up the hood and his young face was suddenly covered in a long beard. "Stand by." The boy said, now sounding like an old man as he walked over to the door. He turned a knob and the small colored wheel by the door switched from green to blue and the disguised boy opened the door. "Why, Mayor, sir." The disguised boy said to an older gentleman who was standing on the other side of the door.

"The sun is already high. Is Master Jenkins at home?" The Mayor asked.

"The Master is out. I answer in his stead." The boy told him as Sophie slowly sat up again.

"An invitation from His Majesty. It has come to war. His Majesty desires every wizard and magician, even the witches, to aid our homeland. His presence is imperative. That is all." The Mayor said as Sophie threw some more firewood onto the fire. She watched as the young boy closed the door and walked back up the stairs watching her with suspicious eyes as she moved to sit back down.

"War, how awful." Sophie muttered to herself.

"And who might you be?" The boy asked her still disguised as an old man.

"Calcifer let me in." Sophie said with a smile, she found this boy to be quite adorable.

"Don't look at me. She wandered in from the Wastes!" Calcifer cried throwing a glare at her as Sophie began to quietly laugh.

"The Wastes?" The boy asked taking off his disguise in shock. "That's strange. You're not a witch, are you?"

"A witch could never get in." Calcifer growled out in annoyance at what the young boy was accusing him of. A bell rang and Calcifer sighed. "Porthaven, again."

"A customer?" The young boy asked as he sat the invitation in a book before disguising himself again. "Stand by." He called before opening the door to a young girl. "State your purpose."

"Mama sent me." The young girl said.

"The usual spell?" The young boy asked as Sophie wondered over to the window. "Behave yourself, now." The young boy hissed to her as he lead the young girl to the table that was piled high with books, papers, and dirty dishes. Sophie silently laughed before turning to look out the window and was shocked that she was not seeing the Waste, but instead saw the small town of Porthaven. Porthaven had been a good week's worth of travel from where they had been.

"It's not the Wastes." She muttered to herself with a small smile.

"Granny, are you a witch, too?" The young girl asked from behind her. Sophie turned and looked at her with playful smile.

"That's right, I'm the scariest witch in the land." Sophie said causing the young girl to giggle at her as the young boy walked over to her and handed the young girl a small bag.

"Sprinkle this powder on your ship and the winds will favor it." The boy informed the girl as she paid him.

"Sure." The girl said before leaving.

"Many thanks." The boy called after her before turning to glare at Sophie as he pulled off his disguise. "I can't have you making up things."

"You should give up that disguise." Sophie told him.

"It's not a disguise, it's magic." The boy told her as the bell rang again.

"The Kingsbury door." Calcifer called out and Sophie watched as the boy disguised himself once more before walking down the stairs and turned a small knob causing the color wheel to turn from blue to red.

"Stand by." The boy called before opening the door to show the streets of Kingsbury that was nowhere near Porthaven.

"Is this the residence of Wizard Pendragon?" A messenger asked.

"It is, indeed." The boy answered.

"I bear an invitation from His Majesty." The messenger said as Sophie made her way down the stairs. "Please inform Master Pendragon that he is required at the Palace."

"Our thanks to you." The young boy said taking the invitation as Sophie looked around in shock that she was now in Kingsbury when just a few minutes ago she was all the way in Porthaven.

"A city fit for a king." Sophie said softly, it was no wonder her mother always traveled here when she could.

"Get back in or you'll lose your nose." The young boy ordered and Sophie turned and headed back into the castle. "Stop wandering around." The boy told her as he headed back up the stairs taking his disguise off.

Sophie watched him go with a smirk before lifting her hand to the knob and turned it to green. She opened the door and found herself in the Waste once more, she returned back to the warmth of the castle and shut the door before turning the knob to blue with a laugh. She opened the door once more and once again found herself in Porthaven, she walked back into the castle and shut the door and turned the knob to red laughing even more. Sophie went to open the door again but was stopped by the boy,

"That's enough! I'm going to get really mad." The boy told her while glaring at her from the top of the stairs. Sophie turned to look at him finding his glare to be more adorable than intimating.

"This is a magic house, isn't it?" She asked him still laughing, she hadn't had this much fun since her father took her swimming when she was 9, before the tugging in her soul began.

"Oh, boy!" The boy groaned in annoyance before turning away from her and walked over to a counter that was covered in food that seemed too rotten to even consider being called food. Sophie walked up the stairs and watched as the boy dug under the pile for something.

"Where does the black one lead?" Sophie asked.

"Only Master Howl knows." The boy said as he continued to look for whatever he was looking for. "I'm having my breakfast." The boy said finally finding some bread that was not molding and a chunk of cheese that was somehow still edible. Sophie walked over to the counter and noticed that the basket of eggs were still good, along with a plate of uncooked bacon.

"But you've got bacon and eggs." Sophie said as the young boy walked to the table and began to shove things out of the way.

"We can't use the fire when Master Howl's away." He informed her. Sophie glanced at Calcifer who was watching her with a guarded stare. She placed the plate of uncooked bacon in the basket of eggs and walked over to a skillet on the wall that was surprisingly clean. She grabbed it and smiled over to the young boy who was also watching her.

"I'll cook for you." Sophie said before making her way over to Calcifer who was now glaring at her.

"But you can't. Calcifer only obeys Master Howl." The boy informed her as Sophie placed the basket on the chair next to the fire noticing her hat on the ground.

"That's right, I won't cook for you!" Calcifer growled out as he flared his flames out, as if trying to scare her away. But Sophie ignored him picking up her hat, having a feeling that she would be able to get him to listen to her, after all, she did have something over him.

"All right, Calcifer. Be a good fire, now." Sophie said smiling at Calcifer as she pushed her shawl up so that it wouldn't get caught in his flames.

"Forget it, I'm a demon!" Calcifer yelled at her once again flaring his flames out as he glared at her. "I answer to no one!" He informed her before sticking his flaming tongue out at her.

"You'll do as I say, or I'll pour water on you. Or would you rather I told Howl about our bargain?" Sophie whispered to Calcifer with a smirk inwardly laughing as Calcifer's eyes widened in fear at the thought of her telling Howl of their bargain.

"Hey! Hey! I never should've let this old lady in!" Calcifer said crossing his arms and glaring at the wall. Calcifer cried out in shock as Sophie suddenly tried to place the skillet on him.

"So, what'll it be?" She asked as the two fought each other for a minute before Calcifer allowed her to set it on him. "That's right, there's a good fire." Sophie said as she placed a piece of bacon on the skillet.

"Here's another curse. May all your bacon burn!" Calcifer hissed and glared at her from under the skillet.

"Calcifer's doing what she says." Sophie heard the young boy whisper in shock.

"I'd like some tea, too. Have you got a kettle?" Sophie asked him.

"Sure." The heard the boy reply. She heard the sound of the color wheel changing right before the door opened. "Welcome home, Master Howl. You have letters from the king. To Jenkins and to Pendragon." Sophie glanced over to see the wizard that had rescued her. She watched in shock as the tired looking wizard made his way over to her and Calcifer. Her heart skipped a beat as his sky blue eyes looked into her eyes before slowly sliding over to Calcifer.

"Calcifer, you're so obedient." Howl said in his deep voice as he smiled tiredly at the fire demon and Sophie went back cooking the bacon before Calcifer burnt it.

"She bullied me!" Calcifer cried out to him from under the skillet.

"Not an easy thing to do." Howl said before turning his tired eyes to Sophie. "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm grandma Sophie." Sophie said and was shocked to see a flash of recognition flew through the wizard's eyes before quickly being hidden behind a wall. "You see, I'm your new cleaning lady."

"Give me that." Howl said quickly taking the skillet and the spoon she was using to cook from her as he gently used his body to move her. "Pass me two more bacon slices and six more eggs." He told her as he held out the skillet. Sophie smiled before quickly laying two more slices of bacon on the skillet, and began to hand Howl the eggs one at a time as he put the skillet back on Calcifer. Sophie watched as Howl cracked open the eggs on to the skillet before tossing the egg shells into Calcifer's awaiting mouth.

"Yummy." Calcifer hummed as he ate the egg shells.

"And who hired you to clean?" Howl asked her looking away from the skillet to look at Sophie with the same look that Calcifer had given her last night.

"Why, I hired myself. I've never seen such a filthy house." Sophie said shocked that she had actually said what was on her mind without having someone force her to do so.

"Hmm." Howl hummed before turning to look at the young boy. "Markl, plates." He ordered as he took the skillet off of Calcifer and carried it over to the table that the young boy, Markl, had made space enough for them to eat on.

"You're all ganging up on me!" Calcifer yelled angrily flaring out his flames causing Sophie to flinch back as a tendril got too close, she felt a wave of what she assumed was magic fly past her and hit Calcifer forcing the fire demon to retract his flames with a grumble. Sophie peeked over at where the wave had come from to see Howl watching her with a soft look.

"Please join us, Sophie." Markl called to her and Sophie made her way over to the table as Howl served the bacon and eggs.

Sophie sat down and watched as Howl handed Markl the now empty skillet while taking the empty kettle from him. Sophie watched amazed as Howl cleaned it by blowing into it, she jumped when Howl's sky blue eyes landed on her as he waved his hand and magically filled the kettle with warm tea. Markl sat a small chipped bowl in front of her before taking the now filled kettle from Howl, freeing the wizard's hands to hand Sophie her plate as Markl filled the small bowl with tea.

"Pick one." Markl said holding out a fork and two spoons, all of which were dirty. "Everything else is dirty." Sophie was amazed that Howl could literally magically clean a kettle by blowing on it yet could not take the time to magically clean anything else. With a soft laugh, Sophie took one of the spoons and used her hand to try and clean it as best as she could.

"I've got my work cut out for me." She told herself before looking up at Howl who was watching her as he sliced through the loaf of bread cutting off a piece for her and Markl.

"Markl." Howl said handing Markl his piece.

"Yes." Markl said taking it.

"Sophie." Howl said as he handed her her piece.

"Thank you." Sophie said taking it from him with a soft smile.

"Brethren, let us partake of our daily bread." Howl prayed holding up his own chipped bowl of tea.

"Our daily bread." Markl cried with his bowl of tea in the air. "Haven't had a real breakfast in a long while." Markl said before digging into his food.

"So many manners to teach..." Sophie muttered as she watch Markl.

"So, what's that in your pocket?" Howl asked Sophie startling her. She had something in her pocket? Sophie sat her spoon down and reached into her pocket before pulling out a folded piece of red paper.

"I wonder what it is." Sophie said and went to open it when she was stopped.

"Let me." Howl said holding out his hand for it, slowly Sophie reached out to give it to him. The second the paper touch Howl's hand the paper sent a painful shock up Sophie's arm causing her to release the paper. When the paper touched the wooden table it caught flame and left scorch marks of a man and a shooting star on the table.

"It's scorched into the table. Master Howl, this is..." Markl started as Sophie cradled her hand to her chest and watched as Howl glared at the scorch marks.

"Ancient sorcery. And powerful, too." Howl said.

"The Witch of the Waste?" Markl asked him.

"'He who catches a falling star, o heartless man. Your heart shall be mine...'" Howl read, a dark look in his eyes. "Well, so much for the table." Howl said before placing a hand over the scorch marks a second later Sophie felt the hair on the back of her neck raise as the air around them became filled with magic. Sophie watched in amazement as Howl used his magic to remove the scorch marks from the table.

"Wow, it's gone!" Markl said as Sophie noticed the burn on Howl's right hand, the hand he used to remove the scorch marks. He hadn't removed the scorch marks completely, he had just transferred them from the table to his hand.

"The scorch mark has vanished, but not the spell." Howl said cradling his hand to his chest before he stood up with his plate in his left hand. "Brethren, continue your meal." He said before walking over to Calcifer and dumped the food into his mouth, never once touching it himself. "Calcifer, move the castle 100 kilometers." Howl ordered before starting up the stairs to the second floor. "And send hot water to the bath."

"Not that, too!" Calcifer complained but Howl ignored him as he continued up the stairs.

"Do you work for the Witch of the Waste?" Markl asked her suspiciously.

"Don't be stupid! The witch..." Sophie started but found the words trapped in her mouth, and no matter how hard she tried she could not tell Markl that the Witch of the Waste was the one to curse her. Frustrated with everything, Sophie stood up before slamming her hands down on the table, knocking over a few books. "Damn that Witch of the Waste! Wait 'til I get my hands on her!" Sophie yelled before sitting back down and looked over at Markl who was watching her in shock while holding his plate of food, having saved it from being knocked to the ground. "Eat your breakfast." She ordered him before beginning to shovel food into her mouth.


End file.
